MAXINE FOLLMER

When Anita Birdwell experienced severe abdominal pain last year, she never imagined that she'd be rushed into surgery to have a large, cancerous tumor in her colon removed. Her surgery was followed by months of chemotherapy at Georgia Cancer Specialists in Atlanta.

"One of my mother's friends recommended Georgia Cancer Specialists because she had been treated there, and so that's where we went," said Birdwell's son, Wes. "We knew that Mother had a good chance for recovery, but it was still going to be a long road, filled with uncertainty, doubts and fears of what the chemicals would do to her body."

Birdwell said that his — and his mother's — fears were allayed the moment they met Maxine Follmer, RN, BSN, OCN, clinical nurse at Georgia Cancer Specialists. "On the first visit, my mother was very scared, but in walks a radiant, bubbly nurse named Maxine, the same nurse that treated my mother's friend's breast cancer. Within minutes there, we were telling stories of family, friends and recent trips."

As the chemotherapy continued, the relationship between nurse and patient grew. Follmer, 36. even came to the Birdwells' home on Thanksgiving to help with treatments.

"Our goal was to help her stay on schedule for her treatments, and we didn't want to take any shortcuts, so I offered to come and remove her chemo pump on Thanksgiving," Follmer said. "It was just something that I needed to do."

For Follmer, being an oncology nurse is a life's calling, but even she struggles with it from time to time.

"It's especially hard some days to leave my two small children to go to work, but I tell them that Mommy's going to help take care of sick people," she said. "I want them to understand how important it is to care for others."

To the Birdwell family, Follmer's dedication is obvious.

"She truly loves her patients and knows how to make them feel good about themselves, even at their lowest times," Birdwell said. "She gives this same care to all her patients and gives so much to her profession."